Page 150 of A Little Jaded
Ophelia and Mav are in the kitchen, not even bothering to hide their cackles of amusement while they sip their coffee. Meanwhile, Reeves leans against the closest wall with his arms crossed and a shit-eating grin on his face. Dylan’s beside him, her arms pulled close to her chest, and her hands cupped together.
“Reeves, I swear to all that is holy, if that thing is real?—”
“What? You think I’d buy the love of my life a fake frog?” Reeves counters.
“Come on, he’s really cute!” Dylan looks down at her hands and takes a step closer to Finley.
Another scream escapes her. “Don’t you dare come one step closer Dylan Becca Thorne, or so help me?—”
“You’ll wake up with a frog in your bed?” Dylan offers ruefully.
Everett’s hand slips from my lower back, and he covers his mouth with it.
“It’s not funny!” Finley snaps at him.
Ignoring her, Everett glances at Reeves. “You actually went through with it?”
“Went through with what?” I ask.
“Fin’s terrified of frogs,” he explains. “And I mean, shit your pants level of terror.”
“No one is shitting their pants!” Dylan interjects.
“Not yet, anyway,” Reeves quips.
Finley’s glare cuts to him. “I will neuter you!”
“There’s no need for neutering,” Dylan argues, though she steps in front of Reeves like she actually believes Finley might do it. “Besides, Frankie is a perfectly harmless gentleman.”
“Younamedit?” Finley shrieks.
“Of course I did,” Dylan says, defending herself. “He’s part of the family now and is also your new roommate, so you might want to make friends with him.”
“No deal.” Finley shakes her head, her gaze glued to Dylan’s cupped hands. “Nope, nope, nope. I’m good. Thanks, though.”
Grimacing, Dylan steps closer but keeps her movements slow and controlled as if it might spook her best friend on the couch. “Seriously, Fin. I promise he’s nice.”
“I don’t care if he’s nice.” She shakes her head back and forth all over again. “If that thing comes within ten feet of me, I swear I’ll put it in a pot and?—”
“Hey!” Dylan brings her hands even closer to her body like an overprotective mother. “You be nice. I already told you, Frankie’s a perfectly harmless gentleman, remember?”
“Yeah, and if you threaten him again, Dylan will slip him into your bed,” Reeves offers.
Her eyes narrow on Dylan’s boyfriend. “Iwillget you back for this.”
“For giving my girlfriend leverage against all your teasing?” he volleys back at her. “Try me.”
“Okay, okay, people,” Ophelia announces from the kitchen. “Dylan, put the frog back in it’s cage?—”
“Terrarium,” Reeves corrects.
“Terrarium,” Ophelia repeats. “Right. Then wash your hands, and we can finish...” Her nose wrinkles, and she sneaks a peek at Finley.
“Yeah, yeah. We all know you guys are ditching me for a week-long vacation in Cancun. Thanks for that,” Fin pouts.
Striding into the room from the hallway, Griffin interjects, “Maybe you shouldn’t have used up all your miles to go see Drew.”
Finley glares at him, but instead of arguing like I know she would with anyone else, she stays quiet and jumps off the edge of the couch, sitting on the cushion with her mouth pressed into a thin slash of white.